It was a complete descent into hell for him.
From that moment on, he detested her.
Ruan Wei, just for speaking a few more words with her, had upset him so much that he ignored Ruan Wei all night long. His hatred for Liao Zhaoji was truly profound.
These days, she hadn’t appeared at the Liao Family at all, and he had been living with the Ruanlin Family, enjoying good food, clothing, and sleep every day. He had almost forgotten that he had such a mother.
He never imagined that their next encounter would be under these circumstances.
Stealing meat from his uncle’s house to bring to his grandmother’s?
Ruan Chi’s complexion was awful as he stared at the cured meat already cut in front of her and asked aggressively, "Why are you stealing meat from my uncle’s house? Are you planning to steal it for the Liao Family?"
"You child, what’s all this talk of stealing? And what do you mean ’the Liao Family’? That’s your grandmother’s house. You really have no manners," Liao Zhaoji glared at him, muttering unhappily, "Did you learn nothing from all your studying? You don’t even greet your mother, who taught you that?"
Ruan Chi looked at the knife in her hand and sneered, "Even if I did learn nothing, I still know this is stealing. Taking without asking is stealing!"
"What stealing nonsense are you spouting? You’re sounding really unpleasant, kid!" Liao Zhaoji was angered and her face struggled to maintain composure, yet she still argued her point, "I came back to borrow a bit, just a bit. I didn’t take much, and your grandma won’t even notice!"
Ruan Chi snorted in derision, saying "borrow" on one hand and "grandma won’t notice" on the other, which was contradictory. He scorned to argue with her about this and went over to take all the cured meat she had cut.
He definitely didn’t want to feed that meat to the bloodsuckers at the Liao Family!
Liao Zhaoji saw him coming over and realized what he was after, stretching out her hand quickly to grab it, but she was a step too slow; Ruan Chi had already taken all the cured meat.
Liao Zhaoji looked at the ceiling where several chunks had been cut out of the cured meat, then at her son, who had taken the meat. Her face went from red to white, wanting to erupt in anger but knowing full well how stubborn this child could be. She lowered her voice and coaxed him, "Xiaochi, your mother isn’t stealing, it’s more like borrowing and I’ll return it in the future. "
"Return it?" Ruan Chi scoffed, his gaze enigmatic.
Feeling powerless and fed up with her refusal to repent, he didn’t even have the energy to say another word.
Thinking he believed her, Liao Zhaoji nodded hastily, saying, "Your grandma has been tired out by the farm work these past few days, she needs some meat to nourish herself, that’s why I came to take a bit. Don’t worry, once your uncle has money, he will certainly return it!"
"And what about the forty pounds of meat before? When will that be returned?"
"Oh, that... We can’t touch that. Your uncle is getting married in June, it’s all being smoked. Anyway, rest assured, your uncle will return it. He even said that in the future he wants to send you to college!" Liao Zhaoji’s tone became somewhat excited, as if the days of living comfortably relying on her brother were just around the corner.
Ruan Chi’s eyes drooped, as if all his strength had drained away in an instant.
He truly didn’t have the strength to argue with her about anything.
Because his mother was completely delusional, thoroughly brainwashed by the Liao Family, there was no clarifying anything with her, and he had utterly given up hope.
He pointed to the door and said, "You can go. I’ll pretend this never happened today."
Liao Zhaoji, upon hearing this, was overjoyed, nodding her head with a beaming smile, "Good, good, good, my good son. Your mother’s care for you wasn’t for nothing. Don’t worry, once your grandmother’s farm work is over, I’ll immediately come back to take care of you all."